I have been seeing posts more and more frequently from frustrated users blaming a provider for losing their data. There are numerous scenarios. Sometimes an account is disabled due to being hacked and sending out spam. Other times the user was actively misusing the service. Sometimes the service provider was breached and all of the servers were encrypted with ransomware. Power outages, government seizures and in rare cases, datacenters going up in smoke can all lead to data loss. But only naive fools believe a service provider will avoid all possible catastrophes.

Whatever the cause, the end result is the same – your data is no longer accessible. It’s easy (and lazy) to blame someone else. Why didn’t they have redundant power? Why didn’t they have better security? Why didn’t they give me temporary access to my data after my server was spamming everyone? Why didn’t they spend thousands of dollars to fight the government subpoena to protect my $7/year service?

You are responsible for your data. It’s usually included as part of the terms of service, but even if it’s not, the reality remains the same. When it comes down to it, no one cares about your data except you. If you want to keep it safe, back it up.

The beautiful thing is when you have automated, regular backups, they turn what could have been disasters into mild annoyances. If something happens, you set up a new server, restore from backups and you’re on your way with no data loss.

If you don’t back up your data, then you think it’s not worth preserving. So please stop whining when it’s gone.